Family of Georgia teen fatally shot by police sues for $150 million
The family of a Georgia teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer is suing for $150 million.
Vincent Truitt was killed in July 2020, shortly after authorities tried to stop him and two other teenagers, who were allegedly riding in a stolen car at the time. Following a brief car chase, Truitt and the other passenger exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, drawing officers’ gunfire, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Police said they believed the teen to be armed and a gun was later recovered from the scene of the shooting.
Truitt was struck twice in the back and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day. He was 17 years old.
“I am the proud mother of Vincent Demario Truitt,” his mother, Venethia Cook, said in a press conference on Thursday. She said he asked officers “‘Why did you shoot me?’ To this day, his question has yet to be answered.”
Earlier this month, she filed a lawsuit against Cobb County, one of the largest civil suits ever filed in Georgia for an officer-involved shooting. It comes after a grand jury in February declined to charge the officer involved after reviewing evidence regarding the case, according to the district attorney’s office.
The teen’s family attorney, Gerald Griggs, called his death “unjustifiable,” and emphasized that the teen did not “pose a threat of imminent bodily harm or death.” He also noted that Truitt was running away when he was shot.
Cook remembered her son as a “bright and ambitious teen” who had no “violent history whatsoever.” She said he was also a member of a local group called the Police Athletic League, which “focuses on juvenile crime prevention through mentorships and recreational activities for youth in Cobb County,” its website said.
“He was a loving person,” Cook said. “He loved to joke around, always making people laugh.”
The officer involved has since returned to active duty with the Cobb County Police Department.
